Robin Hood

Soup Productions produced their pantomime, ‘Robin Hood’, which was written and directed by Mike Pirks. This was very much staged as a traditional pantomime with modern references injected into it. Written by Mike Pirks, we had clearly defined pantomime characters, from our principal boy and girl, villain, and dim-witted henchmen. There were chase sequences, fart jokes and jokes about the local area – all your usual pantomime gags. There were moments where it veered towards a more adult audience with choice of language. The overall message of love is in the eye of the beholder was presented clearly throughout, with the other characters believing that Maid Marian is unattractive, whilst Robin Hood is besotted with her. This was a positive message to get across. The set was good, with the stage split into two levels. The lower level being used for the Forest of Nottingham with a forest backdrop, and the upper level, behind a curtain, being used for the castle, with a castle interior backdrop. The pace, on the whole, was good. There were a few moments where it dropped. There were some lovely pieces of direction, such as the archery contest, which was cleverly done. There were a few moments where it looked very busy on the small stage. The costumes suited each character well. The Sherriff of Nottingham’s costume was great, with a modern spin on the costume, which worked very well.

Choreography came from Louise Wright. The choreography was simple, yet effective with the whole cast performing it with confidence.

Soup Productions had assistance from Pyramid and Parr Hall with staging and sound, and the technical elements were well integrated into the pantomime. Sound was good, with good sound effects sourced. The sound balance between these and the cast was good. The songs were played at a good level as well. Lighting was good throughout, with good use of colours used.

Taking on the role of Robin Hood was Mike Ridd. Mike was very strong in this role. He was funny and had an excellent rapport with the audience, getting them on side straight away.

Maid Marian was played by Louise Wright. This Maid Marian was not your average principal girl. She was confident, sassy and a little bit gassy! Louise embodied this character thoroughly.

Sam Duxbury played Nursey, the dame-like character of this pantomime. Sam was loud and brash as Nursey. She was able to show her caring side with her scenes with Maid Marian.

Simon Choat played Little John. This was a good performance from Simon, who had a great dead-pan line delivery, which added much to the comedy. His scenes with Sam’s Nursey were funny and they worked well together.

Little John’s daughter, Little Janet, was confidently played by Klaudia Kirkpatrick. This was a Simple Simon type character, and Klaudia could have pushed this panto trope further. It was a lovely performance though.

Michele Dean delivered a fantastic supporting performance as Friar Tuck. From her physicality to her vocal, Michele embodied this character. There were lots of comic moments that Michele delivered perfectly.

Playing the Master of Ceremonies was Andy Kenny, who played other minor roles throughout the pantomime. There were great moments of comedy, delivered well by Andy. The tumbleweed joke was very funny.

Harry Twining offered great support as Bartleby. His enthusiasm throughout was infectious, and he fully committed to the choreography given to him.

Josh Hopson was suitably camp as Prince Kardashian. He worked very well with Samantha-Jane’s Sherriff of Nottingham, creating a suitably villainous double act. The mannerisms that Josh brought to the role as the entitled, social media obsessed prince were spot on.

Playing the role of Sherriff of Nottingham was Samantha-Jane Twigg. Samantha-Jane appeared to relish this role and gave a strong performance as the pantomime villain.

Jayne Dittrich offered good support as the Narrator, appearing throughout to move the story along. Although some of the jokes may not have hit the mark, Jayne delivered them, and her lines, confidently.

Jo Preston, Lisa Rhodes and Ruth Gosney appeared as the Sherriff of Nottingham’s inept henchmen, Rascal Weasel, Izzi Weasel and Bizzi Weasel. They had all thought about their individual characters, which was pleasing to see. However, they did slow the pace of the pantomime down with picking up lines and line delivery.

Michelle Drinkwater played the mysterious Mystic Peg. This was an endearing performance from Michelle, as the audience weren’t aware of her true character until the very end. This reveal could have been made clearer, as it was a little confusing.

Overall, this was an enjoyable production. The staging was pleasing, there were some very good performances, and the comedy was there.

A big thank you to everyone at Soup Productions for their kind invite and their hospitality.

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